Though he's eligible to come off the disabled list Sunday and has been aiming to play in that night's nationally televised series finale against the Phillies, Ryan Zimmerman may not be ready to return from his shoulder injury until Tuesday.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson said Zimmerman will begin hitting off a tee Friday, and he'll likely need a few more days to ramp up his stroke in the batting cage and against live pitching before he comes off the 15-day DL.

"He's throwing and doing all that," Johnson said. "He feels great. But he's still got to wait, make sure we get by this injury. So I think Tuesday is his coming-out party, hopefully."

Zimmerman hasn't played since April 20 due to inflammation of the AC joint in his right shoulder. He's remained with the big-league club throughout his DL stint and for the last two days has participated inRead more »

They are hiding something! Surely this is an injury similar to Wilson Ramos and it's going to put Zimmerman on the sidelines for months if not years! Way to go with the horrible long term extension Rizzo. He may look good when pitchers just fall into his lap, I could have picked Stratensburger but what else has he done? He can't build any offense, he has guys like Espinosa and Desmonds swinging and missing at everything and he pays TONS of money for injury prone one year wonders like Morse and expects us to be good?This team's quick start was an illusion, they won when no one could hit because of the cold weather, now that it is warming up and other team's bats are getting hot we are getting exposed. We are making AAA quality pitchers look like Nolan Ryan.I expect a sub-.500 record this year, I also expect that Zimmerman, Morse and Storen will not play another inning.Fire Rizzo! Hire a real GM how knows how to build a true team!

How can Davey keep saying "he likes what he sees" when his sluggers remain on the DL, no one of substance is hitting, and the team is in the midst of a 5-game losing streak? What team is Davey watching or, more to the point, coaching?

I would have liked to have seen Zimmerman chomping at the bit to get back for at least the last game of this "Take Back the Park" series against our dreaded divisional rival as we battle to stay in 1st place on a prime time Sunday night game…But I guess that is not how he rolls…

Davey is trying to stay positive. Its amazing when you tell someone they are good they actually believe it and start hitting.Yep, exactly. But, he is capable of changing rapidly as is necessary. In Moore's case he is not yet a major league outfielder. He's still a first baseman. Otherwise, he might be in the lineup instead of Nady.

Point taken, I'm sure Zimm wants to get back… my thought is colored by my disapointment… I guess I would like to see him chomping that bit so hard that nothing could stop him from getting back to play the Phils… after all, the story says "He feels great"…Hopefully when he picks up the bat again on Friday, everything will be cool and his name will be penciled into the lineup on Sunday… I can only hope…